Burkina Faso

A partner of Burkina Faso for sixty years, AFD supports the education and training sectors, water and sanitation, energy, local development, and agriculture. In response to the security and humanitarian crisis, AFD is stepping up its work in the northern and eastern border regions of the country. It is increasingly incorporating crisis-response components into its financing, implemented by public institutions or civil society actors, to deliver direct services to the population and strengthen national institutions.

Context

Burkina Faso is a landlocked Sahel country and one of the poorest countries in the world. It has few natural resources and has to manage a very rapid growth in its population, which has doubled in less than 25 years to over 18 million inhabitants and is expected to exceed 27 million by 2030. This situation largely undermines economic growth: it requires planning oversized investments to ensure that infrastructure is not overwhelmed as soon as it is commissioned.

Burkina Faso has major challenges to address. In particular, it is vulnerable to climate change, driven by an undiversified economy, and is highly dependent on the primary sector.

However, its stabilized political situation, its democratic vitality and its remarkable resilience to the shocks it has been subject to in recent years are clearly an advantage for attracting investments in the coming years, first and foremost from France and French companies.

AFD has been a partner since 1960 and supports Burkina Faso’s development programs in structural sectors for the economy and society: basic infrastructure (energy, water and sanitation), urban and rural development, education and vocational training. It provides financial and technical support to the Government of Burkina Faso, public and private companies and territorial authorities.

AFD's Burkina Faso office is directly attached to the Greater Sahel regional office.

Our approach

AFD and Burkina Faso: promoting inclusive growth and fostering sustainable development

Since 2017, AFD has increased its financing in the northern and eastern border areas of Burkina Faso, in line with the Burkinabè government's Emergency Program for the Sahel (PUS). While continuing to provide support for public policy in general, AFD is increasing its efforts across three regions that are extremely vulnerable due to the current security and humanitarian crisis, as well as a historical sense of having been marginalized: the North/Sahel area, the eastern region and the Boucle du Mouhoun. Working in close cooperation with members of the Sahel Alliance, AFD’s aim in financing projects is to meet the needs of the Burkinabè people, and help to resolve conflicts (natural resources, food security, communal development, drinking water, social cohesion, etc.).

AFD will also continue its extensive support for sustainable development in the cities of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, to address demographic, social and economic issues, with a view to reducing inequalities in their regions and adapting to climate change.

AFD has been supporting the government in implementing its education and training policy, through a combination of project assistance and financial aid, and by promoting collaboration between donors in the sector, via a common fund. Our portfolio of active projects currently values €84 billion.

Thanks to the commitment of the Burkinabè government, the school enrollment rate has risen from 44% to 91% during this period, with parity of 1.1 girls for every boy. AFD's leading role has been recognized by the Burkina Faso government and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), having tasked it with monitoring the resources allocated to the country since 2013. The financing initiative by AFD and the GPE, particularly in public policy dialogue, is focused on reducing inequalities, getting girls into school, providing education in emergency situations and offering training to the most vulnerable young people in times of economic crisis.

AFD is supporting public policy in the water and electricity sectors, through nationwide programs, while at the same time providing specific financing in areas with major security issues.

In terms of drinking water and sanitation, AFD has allocated €210 million to the sector over 20 years, in both urban and rural areas, financing both major access and distribution infrastructure projects (Ouaga, Bobo) and social marketing innovations to develop autonomous sanitation services (eastern region, Boucle du Mouhon).

With regard to energy, while the electricity supply from the national grid covers barely one fifth of the population, the Burkina Faso government has launched a proactive policy to produce cheaper and greener electricity. AFD is supporting this policy by financing regional interconnections and solar production plants, while integrating innovations relating to storage and building the transportation, distribution and management capacities of the public operator Sonabel.

AFD has committed €172 million to the energy sector in financing over the last decade. The Yeleen Solar Program, launched in 2019 and co-financed by AFD, the EU and the AfDB, as part of the mandate of the Sahel Alliance, is a medium-term strategy to make Burkina Faso a leader in solar power in the West African region.

Agriculture is the main economic sector in Burkina Faso (representing 30% of GDP) and the majority of its people live in rural areas (77%). Agricultural productivity remains low, with farming practices being relatively extensive nationwide until recently.

AFD has been promoting rural development for many years, with a focus on two areas: the eastern region and the Boucle du Mouhoun. The aim of the projects financed by AFD is to provide structure in agricultural sectors, support small-scale farming, develop agroecological techniques, improve land tenure security through public policy and help local authorities to take greater ownership of projects, by applying their knowledge of local issues.

AFD works in collaboration with Sahel Alliance donors who have invested in rural and value-chain development, particularly the European Union and KfW.